THE CROSS & THE CRUCIBLE

I will say this about the album that got me into Pallas: if they would have cut some parts, this would be undoubtedly a masterpiece of masterpieces. I adore many of the tracks on this album, and the blokes have clearly put a lot of effort in here. Here's why I'm very disappointed however, in the form of a track by track:

1. The Big Bang - Mediocre track, not a good start. I had to skip it if I'm honest with you. 3/10 2. The Cross And The Crucible - Pallas's best song by far, this shows an excellent side to every musician. The opening chords after the seaside effect are very good also, reminiscent of Bach. 10/10 3. For The Greater Glory - Another fantastic track, albeit weaker than CATC. 8/10 4. Who's To Blame - The second bad track on the album. It seems that Pallas are not too good with short songs from my experiences. 2/10 5. The Blinding Darkness Of Science - An excellent track. This time they let loose their heavier side with some metal influence, let still retaining some very melodic harmonies. 9/10 6. Towers Of Babble - I love this track so much. It has prog written all over it, with a nice 11/8 second part, apocalyptic feel, organ solo, acoustic guitar solo at the start and the beloved 7/4 heavy start that some proggers have grown so used to. 10/10 7. Generations - Third poor track off the album, this does not appeal to me at all. They have melody to a cheesy level that I can't stand! 3/10 8. Midas Touch - Great track. Even my friend who hates prog loves this track. I even took time to learn the keyboard solo! I also love the solid restrained drumming in this track, subtly brilliant. It even has a nice little moral against greed hidden in the talking section :P 9. Celebration! - Starts with a pathetic bang and sizzles out. The cheesiness returns! This is NOT Pallas and is a shame to Neo-Prog. 2/10

I'd love to give this 5 stars, as half of the content is of much better quality than Beat The Drum. But I can't. 4 stars at most, but if i'm just i will give it 3. so it's really a 3.5, sorry guys :-(